Renewable energy\u2019s favorite season has arrived.<\/p>\n
Spring is when everything comes together for clean power sources. Days get longer, boosting solar generation. Winter\u2019s blustery winds keep blowing, propelling turbines<\/a> to their max. And melting snow and heavy rains combine to drive hydropower generation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Previous springs have shown us just what this wild weather is capable of. In the first week of March 2025, Texas\u2019 power grid, known as ERCOT, set all-time records<\/a> for wind and solar power production as well as battery storage discharge.<\/p>\n Now, just a\u00a0few weeks into spring, and with plenty more renewable power generation<\/a> added in the past year, Texas is once again reaching new heights. On March 14, ERCOT reached an all-time high of 28.7\u00a0gigawatts of wind power, according to GridStatus.io<\/a>. Even more impressive is the state\u2019s solar generation, which has already set multiple records<\/a> so far this\u00a0year.<\/p>\n And in California, batteries stored a\u00a0ton of that clean energy, and then set record after record<\/a> for dispatching it throughout March.<\/p>\n A lot of those records were only made possible thanks to the U.S. adding 26.5\u00a0GW<\/a> of utility-scale solar power generation in 2025, and another 5.7\u00a0GW of wind generation. A\u00a0massive 13\u00a0GW<\/a> of grid battery installations last year helped make full use of those renewables.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an added bonus to all these records happening as the weather starts to warm. Most of us are starting to turn down our furnaces and heat pumps, but haven\u2019t yet turned on our air conditioners. That means overall power demand tends to be at its lowest in the spring, and with renewables at their peak, we need far less fossil-fueled power to pick up the difference.<\/p>\n That confluence resulted in something monumental<\/a> in March 2025: For the first time ever, fossil fuels accounted for less than half of U.S. power production across a\u00a0whole month, while clean sources generated the rest. Let\u2019s see if the U.S. can repeat that feat this\u00a0year.<\/p>\n More big energy stories<\/p>\n A global energy crisis is in full\u00a0swing<\/p>\n Continued conflict in the Middle East is highlighting the risks of relying on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been five weeks since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran, sparking a\u00a0conflict that has largely shut down oil and gas production and transportation in the region. Domestic natural gas supplies have blunted<\/a> the blow in the U.S., but much of the world is facing a\u00a0major energy crisis. Thailand has encouraged workers<\/a> to ditch business suits to curb the use of air conditioning, while Sri Lanka has implemented<\/a> a\u00a0four-day workweek to limit fuel\u00a0use.<\/p>\n